


Trifles

by fancywaffles



Series: An Azure Dawn [4]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Fire Emblem: Three Houses Blue Lions Route, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-14 13:27:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29792568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fancywaffles/pseuds/fancywaffles
Summary: A look into Felix and Byleth's growing friendship over the years, of two weirdly not very talkative sword people.(or, idk my bff byleth?)
Relationships: Felix Hugo Fraldarius & My Unit | Byleth
Series: An Azure Dawn [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1654411
Comments: 6
Kudos: 38





	Trifles

**Author's Note:**

> Happy (extremely belated) birthday to Felix! This is... not truly a fic, it's more of a collection of scenes of Felix and Byleth's friendship. It fits into Azure Dawn continuity so there are minor background hints of Sylvix and Dimilix, but if you wanna read this as Felileth that's fine by me! 
> 
> The title is from one of Felix's tea lines: " Crests, lineage, knighthood... Trifles. Skill and survival are the only things that matter."

Felix mostly let the dull thrum of inane conversation wash past him at dinner. Unbidden, he kept hearing the boar’s enthusiastic and all too perfectly polite and genial cheer as he gushed on about the mercenaries who had saved him and the other house leaders.

“I wonder what that’s like,” Ingrid said, “traveling the continent and only doing work when asked of you.”

“Or if the purse is big enough,” Sylvain added. He reached for one of the bread rolls by Ingrid like an amateur and almost lost his hand when she slammed her own down to block him.

“I wouldn’t say that,” the prince of Faerghus said, looking for all intents and purposes like a total normal version of himself—he was smiling brightly and it almost didn’t look fake, but there was something else there setting Felix’s nerves off. “It was quiet remarkable really. I hadn’t seen combat tactics such as that before and I’ve seen many a talented swordsperson.”

“You said Felix’s favorite word,” Sylvain stage whispered and Felix only just resisted stabbing him his fork.

The boar seemed to leap on the opportunity and starting gushing, at length, about this Byleth’s sword prowess and how she and her father had taken down a formidable group of bandits—but mostly Byleth.

Felix didn’t trust the facade that had slid over Dimitri’s face, but even now, he didn’t tend to exaggerate about physical skills.

“If she’s that good,” Felix said, “she should prove it in a match.”

“Is that all you ever think about?” Ingrid asked, biting off another piece of bread.

Everything else to think about was pointless. “We’re here to improve.”

“I agree,” Sylvain said, surprising Felix for exactly two seconds before a slow smile covered his face and he added, “Maybe I’ll ask this Byleth if she wants to teach me a thing or two outside of the training yards.”

“Sylvain,” Ingrid and Dimitri said almost in near synchronized exasperation. It felt so normal it turned Felix’s stomach. He shoved his tray aside and pushed himself up.

Besides, it wasn’t like she could be _that_ good.

* * *

She was that good.

Their new professor stared down at Felix—not blinking as she was still standing firm after knocking Felix completely off balance in a maneuver he’d never seen before.

Watching swordswork, even by someone as talented as Jeritza, wasn’t the same as the painfully short amount of time that bout that been.

“Show me how you did that,” Felix said immediately. He felt like there was _finally_ actually a reason to be in Garreg Mach after all.

Byleth blinked at him. She was inscrutable so far, not that Felix minded. Then she nodded. She held her hand out for him to help him up, but he wasn’t bruised that badly—ego or otherwise, so he pulled himself to his own feet. He merely got a slight eyebrow raise in reply.

It took two hours for Felix to properly execute the move Byleth had done and even then he was unsatisfied with his progress.

“Did you teach yourself?” Byleth asked, out of nowhere.It almost took Felix out as quickly as that move of hers had.

“Mostly,” Felix said, with a mild scoff. Glenn preferred a lance, like most Faerghuns, but he was amenable to a blade as well. He’d shown Felix some of the basics before…

Byleth nodded, as if that confirmed something. “Not bad,” she said. Her tone was frank and didn’t hold any hidden agenda or false niceties, oddly comforting given the current circumstance. “You hold yourself well and don’t seem to rely on outdated techniques like some of the self-taught swords I’ve met. You’ve got a good eye for dynamic changes.”

“Yes, well, I’ll get better and then trounce you the next time then,” Felix said, turning around so she couldn’t catch any whiff of him being please by a stupid compliment.

“You’re welcome to try,” Byleth said. This time there might have been a hint of amusement in her tone. Felix would’ve been more irritated if that hadn’t been the most productive sparring session he’d had in… well a while.

* * *

He didn’t win the next time he challenged her either. Or the time after that. As each challenge passed, Felix—like the rest of them even outside of their class— came to admire Byleth’s prowess in battle with something close to awe. She held herself in a way he’d never seen before. Maybe it was the mercenary upbringing.

“Does traveling as a mercenary give you more freedom to learn techniques?” Felix asked at one of Byleth’s many meal invitations. She seemed to randomly eat with student, faculty, or anyone else she could find.

She usually picked good food at least.

Byleth was seriously considering the question, tilting her head slightly in thought, when their other eating partner groaned loudly.

“Felix, do you _ever_ think about anything else?”

“You’re one to talk about a one track mind,” Felix said, stabbing his meat pie.

“A little, I think,” Byleth said, answering Felix and ignoring Sylvain. “I think I was exposed to more fighting styles than most, but you can get that here as well.” She stabbed her fork into a large portion of meat and ate the entire piece fast enough to give Ingrid or Raphael a run for their gold. At least Byleth waited until she swallowed before speaking again. “Shamir and Claude have a lot of interesting archery techniques I hadn’t seen before.”

“You managed to get Claude to show you?” Felix asked.

Byleth shrugged both shoulders. “I owe him a favor now.”

“What is it?”

Byleth shrugged again. “I don’t yet.”

“Hey Professor,” Sylvain said, in a voice that didn’t mean this was going to end well. “You know if you really want to learn some new techniques here at good ol Garreg Mach, I could— _ow,_ fucking hell, Felix!” Sylvain stopped his leering and rubbed his shin, turning to glare at Felix for the well-deserved kick.

“You shouldn’t swear in front of faculty,” Byleth said, completely deadpan as she took another bite of her meat.

Felix barely covered his laugh into his fist in time.

* * *

Felix tried not to show too much obvious annoyance as the crown prince of Faerghus stared blatantly at their professor while she pulled her hair up. Byleth’s fingers skimmed her neck for any loose hairs and then turned around towards them. She smiled in their direction and Felix was fairly certain the boar was going to faint.

He forced himself not to be amused by it. At least what was left of Dimitri was still a good sparring partner.

“Plant your feet wider,” Byleth said to Annette as they worked through some basic maneuvers. Felix thought it practical she wasn’t only relying on Annette’s magic and was teaching something more substantial should that fail.

“She really is a remarkable teacher,” the boar said, face flushed from what was clearly not only exertion.

Felix rubbed his knuckles against the bridge of his nose. “Can you _focus_ on what we’re doing? I have enough of this problem when I’m sparring with Sylvain.”

“Felix, I’m not—” The boar prince blinked and cut himself off, before frowning and glancing around the training grounds. “Come to think of it, where is Sylvain? I haven’t seen him all day.”

“Probably off with one of his conquests,” Felix said. He didn't want to think about it—he _wanted_ to fight.

The boar had other things in mind and waved Byleth towards them. He fumbled with the water the Knights brought out and made a glass for himself and Felix—as if Felix would accept it. Although hydration wasn’t the worst idea. He took it and ignored the smile that meant Dimitri thought it was a gesture or something else that implied Felix would ever forget—

Felix pulled his gaze towards where Annette looked too pleased for the break as Byleth padded over. She tilted her head. “Do you need something, Dimitri?”

“Ah, yes, Professor? Have you seen Sylvain recently by chance?”

“He’s avoiding me,” Byleth said, as if that statement made sense. It seemed the only thing Sylvain could do since they’d gotten this professor was try another set of lines on her.

“Why?” Felix couldn’t help ask.

Byleth walked towards the water herself, although was stalled by Dimitri handing her his own untouched glass before he quickly grabbed another for himself as if that had been the plan all along. Byleth looked at him curiously for a moment and then turned back to Felix. “I probably should fix it; he’s missed two classes.”

“Fix what?” Felix asked, but Byleth had already turned around towards Annette, who looked frightened and then relieved as Byleth seemingly communicated they were done for the day.

“What could she possibly have said that would put off Sylvain?” Dimitri asked, taking a sip of his water.

Felix hated sharing his sentiment, but that was curious. He went to get Annette some water as she came closer. “Were you asking about Sylvain?” she asked and smiled too brightly at Felix when he handed her a drink.

“Yes, do you know why he’s avoiding the Professor?” Dimitri asked.

Annette colored a little, which given how red her face was _from_ exertion was a considerable feat. “Um… well… so, Mercie said that Sylvain was being a little too determinedly forward so the Professor got irritated and asked him if he was serious and then _described_ —” She cut off suddenly and then took a large sip of water.

“And then what?”

“I can’t repeat it,” Annette said. “I can’t even believe Mercie repeated it. It was very lewd.”

Dimitri looked skeptical. “Annette, I highly doubt the Professor would sink herself to Sylvain’s… I mean, I doubt that she would use unbecoming language like that.”

Annette pursed her lips a little in what might’ve been a pout. It made neither Felix nor the boar expect the next words out of her mouth, a lewd medley of explicit sexual acts that caused the boar to choke on his water.

Annette sipped daintily at her own water and then turned away quickly as if she hadn’t been there at all.

“She was a mercenary after all,” Felix said, stiffly with a shrug. He didn't want to think about it.

* * *

“I look like a fool,” Felix muttered. He thought Byleth’s choice of representation for the White Heron Cup was ridiculous. Mercedes, Dorothea, _Sylvain_ would’ve been better options. He’d mainly agreed to it because he thought he could learn something from it—now he wasn’t sure he cared.

“It’s not that bad,” Byleth said, frowning critically at the stupid draped fabric.

“No one can fight in this,” Felix bit out.

“You’re not fighting,” Byleth said, her lips lifting faintly with amusement.

“How do you know how to dance anyway?” Felix muttered. He supposed he should show some kind of respect for his teacher, especially since she was more than competent, but he did so under sharp protest.

“My father taught me,” Byleth said, turning around Felix and making him feel like a plucked chicken getting examined for dinner. She tugged loose one of the pieces of fabric so it flowed down his side.“That’s better,” she said and then lifted her head to meet his eyes. “And I read up on it.”

Felix looked away from her and huffed. “This is stupid. I’m going to lose.”

“That doesn’t sound like you,” Byleth said. She had him there. “Swordsdance is a really powerful technique,” she added. “It could be invaluable to your progress to learn it.”

He truly hated her sometimes. “I merely have to humiliate myself in front of our entire student body.”

“The Professors and Knights will be there too,” Byleth said, completely deadpan.

Felix flicked his eyes in her direction mostly to glare at her. Her stupid lips were quirking up in amusement again. “You swear this will help my progress?”

Byleth nodded, suddenly serious. “You’ve done good with with your flexibility, but I believe the dancer training could add a sense of precision to your technique as well.”

“Hmph,” Felix said, as much of an assent as she was going to get.

Byleth’s lips quirked up again.

* * *

Byleth sipped her tea quietly, while Felix squinted at the hunting knife she’d given him. He couldn’t recognize the metal. It was efficiently made, there weren’t any signs of warping or otherwise shoddy workmanship.

“Thank you,” Felix said, feeling suddenly awkward. He was suddenly grateful Dimitri had organized something for Byleth’s own birthday or he would’ve felt very stupid.

Byleth smiled. She was a little more emotive now, but not so much that Felix felt like he was sitting to tea with Annette. It was a windy today, both of them had to re-tie their hair more than once to avoid getting it in the actual tea.

The tea that Felix really enjoyed and Byleth always seemed to remember. Sylvain and Mercedes had once mentioned the same.

“Why do you…” Felix trailed off and then frowned, staring down at his cup. He didn’t usually fumble with words, but Byleth was confusing. “What’s this for?”

Byleth’s eyebrows lowered and she tilted her head a little. “It’s your birthday, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Felix said, that was obvious. “I mean, in general. Why do you… find lost things and give them to people or have tea and presents on birthdays. It isn’t as if Hanneman and Manuela are doing the same.”

“Is it… inappropriate?” Byleth asked, completely serious.

“No, of course not,” Felix said. “I just—what do you get out of it?”

“Company,” Byleth said. She stared down at her teacup. Even her eyelashes seemed to have shifted in color to that paler green, though a new hair color was very little to focus on compared to her wielding an ancient relic and slicing her way through the sky. “I rarely ate alone growing up and tea is… sophisticated.”

“Sophisticated?” Felix asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m not exactly a noble, Felix,” Byleth retorted, but she didn't seem bothered by it. She took another sip of tea. “Rhea had tea with me and I liked the setting. It’s easier to talk like this when you have something to do with your hands.”

“I find it easier to talk in the training yard,” Felix said, frowning down at the tea in front of him.

“I like that too,” Byleth said. She said it like she was listing off a new flavor of tea he didn’t know existed. Felix didn’t understand her, except in the training yard.

“Hm,” was all Felix could manage to say.

Byleth always seemed to know what topic to pivot to. “Did you know Dagdans have a fighting style that is specifically dedicated to grappling?”

“No,” Felix said, and then lifted his head. “Did Shamir show you?”

“Not yet,” Byleth said. She leaned her face against her fist and smiled a little. “I think I’ll get it out of her after the mission this month.”

Felix nodded. It wasn’t the most exciting mission. He wasn’t exactly the most pious and didn’t think much of dedicating the entire month’s training to walking down into a tomb, Goddess or no.

“What are you going to do after you graduate?” Byleth asked, suddenly.

Felix blinked, blind sighted by it. “I… return home, continue training to take over the duchy, and … serve the Kingdom.”

“Do you want to do that?” Byleth asked.

Felix’s mouth twisted. “No.”

It was supposed to be the burden Glenn was stuck with—not that Felix could have avoided the other responsibilities of his station for very long. It hadn’t seemed as bleak when Dimitri had still been Dimitri.

He didn’t like thinking about it. “Are you going to keep teaching?”

Byleth was staring off out past the gazebo. Her gaze was a little glassy, absent. “I think so. I don’t… I don’t know if I want to go back to being a mercenary without my father just yet.”

“Well, ignore the boar, you don’t have to wait five years for a reunion,” Felix said. “Just come to Fraldarius and I can beat you in our training yard.”

Byleth’s smile was wide as she turned back to him and Felix had to immediately drop his gaze from the sincerely pleased look in her eyes. It wasn’t that much after all.

* * *

“Can you teach a seminar this weekend?” Byleth asked, panting from the exertion of their training bout. Since Felix had _finally_ beaten her, their training sessions had upped their difficultly level and seemed more physically straining for the both of them. It made him feel stronger to have someone that was also working constantly to better themselves.

“I… suppose,” Felix said. “Why?”

“We don’t know what kind of conditions we’ll be facing this month,” she said, “the Empire’s persistent. I think everyone could do with brushing up on their sword skills. Lances are practical weapons, but sometimes they’re not close enough range.”

“Isn’t that the opposite reason you made Ashe do a seminar last weekend?” Felix cocked an eyebrow.

Byleth put her training sword away and turned to look at him over her shoulder. “And? Sometimes you need to be out of range too.”

“You just want to avoid teaching yourself,” Felix said.

He wasn’t sure what he believed about the asleep for five years rumors, but whatever the case, Byleth did act like she’d been missing five years. She kept staring at everyone when she thought no one was looking, like she was clocking all the differences. It made training sessions feel like he was five years younger.

It had been a long war.

“Sometimes I like learning things,” Byleth countered. “Did you want to practice some spellwork? To speak of range, I think it could be of use.”

Felix brushed her off. He’d rather focus on his sword, than a spell he’d only be able to cast if he didn’t have a sword. If he didn’t have his sword, he’d be dead. That was that.

* * *

A flat package landed on Felix’s lap. “What is this?”

Sylvain’s arm slung uncomfortably heavy and warm around his shoulders. He rolled his eyes. “It’s a birthday present, genius.”

“Oh,” Felix said. He’d actually forgotten. “Thanks.”

“Did you forget it was your birthday?” Sylvain asked, a little too concerned.

Felix shrugged him off. “What does it matter, we’ve had more important things to focus on, haven’t we? We’re meeting up with my father’s troops at the end of the month and the bandit skirmishes near the bordering villages won’t end on their own.”

Sylvain grinned at him. “I didn’t think about getting you fighting bandits as a birthday present, but I’ll keep that in mind for next year.”

Felix resisted the urge to shove the box in his stupid face so he’d stop looking at him like that. “What is it?”

“Open it and find out,” Sylvain said, slowly as if he were talking to a toddler.

“What if I don’t like it?” Felix asked and Sylvain opened his mouth before he met Felix’s gaze and realized he was teasing him. Sylvain snorted and jostled Felix with his arm. Felix opened the small box. It was an overly fanciful blade kit in Fraldarius teal. “This was a waste of gold. I already have a serviceable set.”

“You’re unbearable sometimes,” Sylvain said, but he looked a little too eager to have his gift complimented.

“Thank you,” Felix said, immediately looking away from the overly bright sheen of Sylvain’s answering grin.

And then Sylvain immediately ruined it. “If you like that, you’ll love my gift for tonight. You and me out on the town, wooing some ladies… oh hey wait, Felix! It’s your birthday!”

Felix kept walking away from him. The sentimentality of a nice gift paired with Sylvain’s idea of fun was leaving a dry taste in his mouth. Birthdays during the war had slid past him, as he assumed they had for most others. Even before that, Felix didn’t get as much attention as he seemed to now. Annette baked him something that she claimed wasn’t sweet, which had the unfortunate result of being inedibly sour, but it was hard to mar her enthusiasm. Mercedes, Ashe, and even Dorothea gifted him weapons or training tools of a sort.

Dimitri… the boar merely paced the cathedral like he had been doing. Felix had little hope that his father would be able to direct him any better than Gilbert had.

Byleth invited him to tea. It felt… strange doing something so soft after five years of sleeping in tents and making do. It was a little more comfortable in her room than it had been in the open of the gazebo and the smell of Felix’s favorite tea filled his nose better inside.

Byleth put a package which was slimmer than Sylvain’s in front of him. Felix hoped it was something mundane, like a spiced jerky. He frowned when he opened it, skimming a glance at the thin book with no title. When he flipped it open it appeared to be a journal, except it had already been written in.

“What is this?”

“I wrote down some of the techniques I’ve seen you use over the years. There’s more space to fill in afterwards, but I thought you might like the review.”

Felix flicked his gaze up towards her. If he didn’t know better he’d think her nervous. “Thank you.”

“I wasn’t sure what you’d like,” Byleth added. “It’s… I don’t know if you’ve changed tastes or not.”

Felix snorted. “I think you’d have noticed by now if that was the case.”

“Maybe,” Byleth said softly. She picked at a confectionary that looked unlike what Annette had made him eat. “It’s strange to see how much everyone has improved, but it really makes me… proud, I suppose to see how far you’ve come.”

Byleth had been and still was his teacher but she wasn’t that much older than him. It shouldn’t have felt warming to hear pride. It should have been patronizing.

“Did you do this for your own techniques?” Felix asked.

Byleth shook her head. “Not yet.”

Felix cleared his throat and focused on his tea. There was a silence that felt less comfortable than he remembered. He disliked it. “You shouldn’t have let Gilbert talk over you at the council meeting.”

Byleth sighed and rested her elbow on the table, waving her hand in a dismissive gesture. “It doesn’t matter, he feels like he’s speaking for Dimitri so that’s the direction people want to go.”

“They’re all fools,” Felix said. They were going to divert troops that Fraldarius sorely needed to go after the Empire, rather than retaking Fhirdiad.

Byleth sighed and rested her chin on her palm. “Have you tried talking to him recently?”

“No,” Felix said immediately. Once he realized Cornelia hadn’t actually managed to kill him, Felix had spent far too long looking for a sign of Dimitri. And when they finally found him—it didn’t seem worth it. At least the princely mask was gone and the true beast was out for all to see… that should’ve made Felix feel better, but of course it didn’t.

Byleth sighed and dropped her hand to the table, fingering a laced doily cushioning a cake. She appeared… pensive, or at least bothered by something, but it seemed she hadn’t lost the skill of pivoting the conversation, because then she asked Felix about the new battalion they’d gained.

“I’m glad you could make it,” Byleth said, once they’d finished off their tea and Byleth had finished off most of the confectionaries herself.

Felix shrugged and stared down at the carefully written words of his sword techniques, detailed in a way that he might not have even done himself. “Spending time with you is… not bad.”

Byleth smiled as if he’d flattered her.

* * *

“You’re bleeding,” Felix said.

Byleth blinked and looked at him in confusion. He gestured to his own forehead. She lifted her fingers there and touched the crown of her head where the gash was. She pulled her fingers back down and then frowned. “Probably not good that I can’t feel that.”

“We’re at least four miles from camp,” Felix said, pointing out the obvious in his own frustration. “You _just_ almost died,” he added.

“Going over my quota, I suppose,” Byleth said bleakly. She touched her forehead again and frowned at the blood that came back on her fingertips. “Must’ve been that scout we took out. Unless Hubert can really magic long distance.”

“It isn’t funny,” Felix said. He’d given in and was studying more spellwork, but none of them were healing spells. They should’ve brought Annette or Mercedes with them.

“It means it’s not magic,” Byleth said. She took a couple of shaky steps and then settled down at the trunk of one of the many trees they were surrounded by. In the distance he could hear the local river, which they’d have to cross as well to get back.

Felix came up empty when he dug around his pack. There was a small aid-kit but nothing useful like a vulnerary.

“It’s fine,” Byleth said, as if the person _without_ the head injury required reassurance. “I probably just need stitches to stop the blood and if it’s a concussion or worse—then we’ll deal with that when we get back to the healers at camp.”

“I could go get help,” Felix said.

“Are you going to?” Byleth asked, a slight eyebrow raise.

Felix scoffed and refused to answer her. He pulled out the needle and thread and Byleth pointed him towards a small bottle of what smelled like very badly distilled liquor. “I’m not… I can’t promise you won’t have a horrible scar. It isn’t like I am an expert at stitches.”

“You’ll do fine,” Byleth said, closing her eyes and waving her hand dismissively. She leaned her head back against the trunk. “All those sewing lessons with Mercedes can pay off.”

“What?”

Byleth’s eyes blinked open, staring at Felix oddly for a second and then frowned. “Right. That was Dimitri. Hm.”

“You must have a concussion if you’re confusing me with the boar,” Felix said stiffly as he tried to thread the stupid needle.

“Hook it and twist it around,” Byleth said, pointing to the needle. He followed her direction and breathed out as it finally came together. “Just stop the bleeding. I can manage after that. If I wasn’t so wiped out from that almost ambush I’d heal it myself.”

Felix focused on a task he was ill-suited for—there were ants crawling up his spine as he tried to find the best place to start the first stitch.

“You should’ve brought Dorothea,” Felix said as he picked what felt like the most logical position to begin. He ignored the discomfort as it went in. It wasn’t as if he wasn’t used to piercing skin.

“Probably can’t wind back far enough for that,” Byleth murmured, mostly to herself because it was nonsense.

Felix focused on his task and eventually was able to close the wound. He bandaged it and frowned at the red that had dripped down Byleth’s face, staining her eyebrow and smearing to her forehead where she’d wiped it aside.

“Can you feel it now?”

“No,” Byleth said, frowning. “I can’t feel most of my skull. Maybe there was something in the arrowhead.”

“Excellent,” Felix said tightly, “poison, that’s _exactly_ what we need.”

“Help me up,” Byleth said, tapping her hand ungracefully on his shoulder. Felix dragged her to her feet and threw her arm over his own shoulders, so he could carry the majority of her weight.

The silence as they slowly made their way back was unnecessarily uncomfortable. Felix felt the inane urge to fill it, but he wasn’t Sylvain so he resisted. They made terrible time, which only assisted in the camp already being on alert. Dorothea immediately started fretting and fussing over Byleth and then critiquing Felix’s stitching.

“I cannot believe _you_ won the Heron Cup,” she said, healing light streaming out of her hands and into the blood stained crown of Byleth’s head.

“What does sewing have to do with dancing?” Felix asked, irritated.

“Grace,” Dorothea said, stuffily and ignored him to pay attention to Byleth’s injury. That suited Felix fine.

Byleth slept for a few hours after that and by the time the camp was beginning to set in for another night, she was walking around again. Felix was too wired to sleep, but for once he didn’t feel like sparring. He made his way to Dorothea’s tent, clearing his throat at the threshold.

Dorothea pulled the flap back and eyed him curiously. “Yes?”

“Teach me a healing spell,” he said, stiffly.

Both of Dorothea’s eyebrows raised. She stared at him, opened her mouth, and then seemed to think better of whatever she was going to say and gestured him in.

“It’ll take practice,” Dorothea reminded him as they finished up, as if Felix didn’t know. “Can’t heal the world in a day.”

“We almost lost the only reason we’re advancing in this war,” Felix said, his fingers numb with several failed attempts at light magic. “I need to be better prepared.”

Dorothea was looking a little too intently at him. He hoped she wasn’t thinking his asking her for a favor meant he was a prospective marriage candidate. He thought he’d squashed that idea thoroughly in the Academy.

“You know it’s okay, Felix,” Dorothea said, “to care about the Professor. She cares about us.”

“Don’t… don’t be ridiculous,” Felix said, and stood up. He shook his hands out, trying to shake out the numbness. “Thank you for your assistance. I don’t need a heart to heart.”

Dorothea sighed. “I suppose I should be happy there was a thank you in there at all.”

Felix ignored her and left the tent. The night air was bracing, though not nearly as cold as it could’ve been. They were high in the Oghma Mountains, but not far north enough that the weather would truly be cold.

Byleth was sitting at one of the fires set up for the night, eating meat off a stick. She had her head tilted curiously as Alois said something likely banal with broad hand gestures. Felix clenched his jaw and went back to his own tent.

* * *

“Here,” Felix said, awkwardly shoving his own small box towards Byleth now that a break in the festivities had left her alone and not surrounded by well-wishers.

Byleth looked down at it and then up at Felix and seemed to fight a smile. “Thank you.”

“What’s so funny?” Felix asked, crossing his arms over his chest. “I’m not ungrateful. It would be rude to ignore your birthday when you’re always so… persistent during mine.”

“Persistent?” Byleth asked, no longer fighting the smile.

“You know what I mean.”

Byleth snorted and then looked down at the small box. She opened it with more care that it likely deserved and then her smile went a little soft around the edges. “This is a really nice lure.”

“Well,” Felix shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest. He was glad he didn’t go with his original idea, since everyone else had the same idea and Byleth had already received three different blades. Not to mention the bawdy book of limericks that Sylvain claimed was Ashe’s idea.

Byleth sighed and glanced over at the revelers, already more than half into their cups. She rested her cheek on her fist and then kicked the chair next to her out for him. Felix took it.

“Can I tell you a secret?” she asked.

Felix raised an eyebrow. “Sure.”

“Its not my birthday,” Byleth said, eyeing him sideways with amusement.

“What?” Felix automatically looked over in Dimitri’s direction. He’d sworn it was today and that wasn’t usually a detail he’d overlook. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“It’s weird,” Byleth said. She looked over in the direction Felix had been staring at with a disgusting look of fondness and then laughed. “I _thought_ it was my birthday, but apparently my father made one up to hide me from the Church.”

Felix frowned. Then he tried not to wince overhearing a very drunken rendition of one of those limerick’s from Sylvain’s side of the room. “Why would he do that?”

Byleth’s snort was humorless. “Question of the millennia.”

“So you’re just going to pretend this is still your birthday?”

Byleth shrugged one shoulder. “I guess? I think everyone would feel bad if I told them otherwise and it doesn’t really matter to me.”

Felix snorted and leaned back in his chair. “Yet you assumed I wouldn’t feel upset?”

“Pretty much.” She smiled again and looked over at him. “You get me.”

“Hm,” Felix said. “I suppose I could say the same.”

Byleth smiled more brightly. “Would you like to sneak out and hit the training grounds for old time’s sake? I don’t think they’ll miss us.”

The relief he felt swept through him. “Yes.”

It wasn’t that complicated after all.


End file.
